First post

This is my first post on this new domain. In India, the number on vehicle number plates consist of various components. The first two components are the state code (e.g., KA, WB, BR etc.) and the district code (e.g., 01, 02 etc.). The domain of this blog, ‘BR 06’ represents one such combination. You can search online and find that it is the code for ‘Muzaffarpur’ district, which also happens to be my hometown – the town where I was born and grew up.

My town, Muzaffarpur, is small but densely populated. It is situated at a distance of around 80 kilometers from Patna (which is the capital of Bihar – the state in which these two cities are located). Muzaffarpur is known for its shahi litchis (reminder: add a photo of litchi :D) and its lah choori (reminder: add a photo of lah choori). Because of a variety of personal reasons (besides the fact that this is where I was born and grew up), this place holds a very special place in my life. This is the place I call home.

This website is here to be a reminder of the home I left behind in search of ‘better’ – better education, better job, better lifestyle etc. I was also supposed to build a better home for myself, but I could never build anything beyond a dera – a temporary shelter – because my home was back here… in ‘BR 06’.

A lot of things have changed here in Muzaffarpur since I stopped residing here permanently around 15 years ago. Some changes have been for good, some not-so-good. A lot of shops selling expensive goods have opened up – clothes, cars, jewelry etc. A lot of bridges have been built with the noble idea of improving the traffic situation. Bridges have been built but traffic has become worse. The roads have smaller potholes compared to a decade before and there are traffic signals (with working lights). Air quality index (AQI) values are in triple digits which is a definite indicator of progress. Crimes have definitely gone down as more people are returning home without being murdered, raped, robbed, kidnapped compared to two decades ago. It does not mean that there is ram raj – utopia now. It is just that my parents are now less worried about me being stabbed, murdered or kidnapped if I ever venture out to get milk (compared to when I was a kid). We also have Domino’s Pizza and KFC now. So, things have definitely progressed.

I can keep on talking about my town for hours and this post will soon become a book. I will keep the rest for other posts. There are many more to come. Besides the commentary on my town, in this blog I will also talk about my other (mis-)adventures in life – my attempts at learning new things, trying new activities and doing things that take me out of my comfort zone or just sharing my excitement about some new game that I have played.

See you…